Stop hitting them over the bar: Moyes issues advice to West Ham striker

News Desk
Said Benrahma West Ham

Jesse Lingard’s absence on Sunday means the task of leading the West Ham line lies with one forward who has only scored once since November and another who has yet to notch for the Hammers.

And ahead of the visit to Man United, West Ham boss David Moyes was keen to remind both strikers of their responsibilities.

Said Benrahma scored 17 times for Brentford in the Championship last season but has failed to find the net in 19 games appearances since his October switch.


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The 25-year-old’s eagerness to break his duck was clear when he sent a couple of long-range efforts over the crossbar against Leeds on Monday.

It prompted Moyes to give the Algerian a basic geometry lesson ahead of Sunday’s fixture.

“First of all he has got to stop hitting them over the bar, he’s got to start getting them under the crossbar,” said Moyes of the £30million signing.

“That is the job. We bought him with goals and assists in mind but he is new to the Premier League, he has to get used to it.

“Not everybody is going to hit the ground running, some come in quickly and some don’t. Said is still learning, still picking bits up, but we like him a lot and we think he has got more to come.

“He has just got to stay steady, he has been taking on shots which aren’t at the right time to do so. I think he just needs to calm down a bit and let it come to him rather than going and looking for it so much.”

Benrahma will be joined in attack by Jarrod Bowen, whose progress has stalled after a flying start to his Hammers career.

The former Hull City forward has scored just once in his last 15 Premier League appearances and Moyes says the club are adopting more of a softly, softly approach to his goal drought.

“Jarrod has come in and given us goals,” added Moyes. “The reason we got Jarrod was because he scored 15 goals a season at Hull and we thought we could get some of that for us.

“He’s found that tougher in recent games, over the last month or two, but we’re not trying to put too much pressure on him because he’s done well for us.”